Method of and apparatus for coiling filamentary articles



July 29, 1952 G. E. HENNING ET AL 2,605,052

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR COILING FILAMENTARY ARTICLES Filed March 9, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS a.- 5 HENN/NG 1 c. .1 OLEARY ACTOR/V5) July 29, 1952 e. E. HEN-NING ETAL 2,605,052

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR COILING FILAMENTARY ARTICLES Filed March 9, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 //v|//v TOPS R G. E HENN/NG C. .1 O'LEARY A 7'7'ORNEY July 29, 1952 G. E. HENNING ET AL METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR COILING FILAMENTARY ARTICLES Filed Marh 9, 1949 5 S heets-Sh et s INVENTORS c. E. HENN/NG c. J. 01 EAR) ATTORNEY July 29, 1952 G. E. HENNING ET AL 2,605,052

METHOD 0F AND APPARATUS FOR COILING FILAMENTARY ARTICLES Filed March 9, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 /N|/ENTORS FIG. 9 GE HENN/NG c. J 0254/9) July 29, 1952 G. E. HENNlNG ETAL 2,605,052

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR COILING FILAMENTARY ARTICLES Filed March 9, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 lNl/EN TORS G. E. HENN/NG FIG. /0

c. J. OLEARY 17m A TTORNEY Patented July 29, 1952 UNiT'r-ED YS ES PAT'ENT" I METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR 'COILING FILAMENTARY ARTICLES 1 1 1 George Henning and Charles J Leary, Baltimore, Md., assignors to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corp eration of New York Application March 9, 1949, Serial No. 80,506

uous supply of the filamentary material through the apparatus to. be coiled up it is necessary to connect theend ofa like material from another supply thereof to the material being coiled up each time the supply of material is exhausted at the beginning of its, path of travel. Such connections usually are not intended to form a continuous lengthof material and must be removed from the coils of material in which they are included. It has been the practice in industry associated with such manufacturing processes to include the connections. in the coils .and then rewind and cut such coils to remove the connection therefrom. This procedure often produces coils of material which contain less than the minimum or usable length of material required per coil and results in a substantial waste of the material and extra. handling of the completed coils. To eliminate such waste of materialand maintain minimum handling .thereof, the present invention contemplates controlling of the coiling apparatus in such a manner that the connection between thelengths of material always is located at the end of a completed coil from which position it may be removed readily without rewinding and cutting the coil.

An object of the invention is to provide improved methods of and apparatus for coiling a continuous jadvancing filamentary article into predetermined lengths. I

Another objector the invention is to provide improved methods of and apparatus for coiling a continuously advancing filamentary conductor into coils having such lengths that the splices in the conductors will not be included in the coils.

In attaining these objects, a method illustrating certain features of the invention comprises advancing a filamentary material from a supply 'thereof .along a "predetermined path of travel,

coiling the material at theend of its path of travel into coils each having a predetermined length of the article; and terminating the coil in 24 Claims. (Cl. 24225) process when the said supply of materialis exhausted at the beginning of its path of travel if said coil contains a predetermined minimum length of the filamentary material or continuing to coil up the material upon said coil in process .until an additional "predetermined length of the material is coiled thereon if, said coilcontains less than the minimum footage of the filamentary article when. said sup'ply thereof, is exhausted.

An apparatus illustrating certain features of the invention, comprises means for advancing a filamentary .material, from a supply thereof along a predetermined path of. travel, means for intermittently coiling the-filamentary material at the end of its path of travel into coils having a predetermined length until the supply of the filamentary material being coiled up is ex hausted, and means f0r, selectively terminating the coil in process when the supply of said material is exhausted if the coil contains a predetermined minimum footage of the material or.con-v tinuing the coiling process until an additional predetermined footage of the material is coiled thereon.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following detailed description of a specific embodiment thereof when read in conjunction with .the accompanying drawings, in which? 1.,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a continuous extruding and vulcanizingapparatus embodying certain features 'of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a portion of the apparatus shown in Fig.1, and extending to the left of the portion of "the apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary view of a portion of the left end of" the apparatus shown in Fig.2; I 1 I a Fig. .4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view taken along line 4 -4 of Fig. .3; V

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 3; I Fig. 6 is a fragmentarysectional view taken tary conductor or an insulated conductor, is wound on a supply reel H which is rotatably mounted so that the core H) may be withdrawn therefrom. The core in is withdrawn from the reel H by. a capstan I2 driven in a counterclockwise direction by suitable'powermeans (not shown), and passes around a guide pulley I l positioned directly above the reel H on a support [5. The core then passes under pulleys l6 and I1, rotatably mounted on a support mounted at the base of a cutover tower l8 and over a pulley 20 slidably mounted on the cutover tower by means of an endless cable belt 2 I. to a suitable counterweight (not shown) adaptedtc ride in the vertical part of the cutover tower and urge the pulley 20 toward the top of the cutover tower. Suitable braking is applied to the reel l I by braking apparatus (not shown) so that aprodetermined tension is exerted on the core 10 as it is withdrawn from thereel by the capstan 12. The pulley normally is latched in its lowermost position on the cutover tower against the actionof the counterweight. The pulley 20 may be positioned at the top of the cutover' tower 18 to form a vertical takeup loop in the path of travel of the core ill by unlatching it from the base of the cutover' tower andreducing the braking force applied. to the reel H until the counterweight overcomes the tension in the core 15 between the reel H and the capstan l2.

The core I!) (Fig. 1), after passing around the capstan l2, advances therefrom through an extruding head 23 forminga part of a conventional screw type" extruding apparatus 24 which applies a vulcanizable covering around the advancing core in to form an insulated conductor 25. The insulated conductor 25 passes from the extruding head through an elongated tube 28 containing high pressure, high temperature steam for the purpose of vulcanizing the insulating covering as the conductor 25 passes ther'ethrough. The conductor 25 passes from the tube 28 through a cooling tube indicated generally at 3B. which contains water under pressure to cool the vulcanized covering on the advancing conductor 25. The conductor 25, thereafter, passes around a guide sheave 33 which reverses the direction of travel of the conductor, whereby the conductor now is traveling from left to right in Figs. 1 and 2.

The-conductor 25 (Fig. 2) nowpasses along a V-shaped trough 36, which is partially filled with water, to an air-wiper 31 (Fig. 1) provided for the purpose of removing the moisture on the insulated covering of the conductor 25. The dry conductor emerging from the air-wiper passes around a capstan 40 which is driven in a clockwise direction by the same power means provided for the capstan l2 and thereafter travels from right to left to a pulley 43 and around the pulley 43 to a pulley 44 rotatably mounted on a bracket 55 adapted to ride on a T-shaped rail 48. The movable pulley 44 is adapted to form a horizontal, expandible'loop in the pathoftravel of the conductor 25 as it travels from the capstan 44] through the remaining portion of the apparatus shown in Fig. 2. A drum 50 is suitably mounted on the apparatus and is provided with a steel cable 5| wound thereon, a portion of which is shown withdrawn therefrom and connected to the bracket 45 carrying the pulley 44. The drum is provided with an internal spring mechanism (not shown) which maintains aconstant pull on the bracket 15 and continually urges the bracket 45 and the pulley 44 toward the right-hand end of the track 48.

After passing aroun the pulley 44 (Fig. 1),

the conductor 25 continues moving to the left and passes around a pulley 53 (Fig. 2) and then upwardly and around a pulley 54 which guides the conductor through an electrode 55 (Fig. 6) mounted in a housing 58. The conductor 25, upon emerging from the electrode 55,: passes around the pulley 80, and travels downwardly and around a pulley BI and then travels to the right to a pulley 62. The conductor 25 passes around the pulley '52 and travels upwardly to a pulley 66 which guides the conductor through an electrode 61 mounted in the housing 58. The conductor 25 travels from. the electrode 61 to a capstan 10 mounted in a housing H and driven by a motor '12. The capstan 10 serves to advance the conductor 25 from the capstan 40 beneath a knife 13 arranged to be actuated by a solenoid 14 and then through a tube 16 which guides the conductor 25 to a pulley l1 rotatablymounted on a traversing shaft '18. The knife 13" and the solenoid H are disclosed and claimed in copending application Serial No. 57,014, filed October 28, 1948, by D. C. Robson for "Apparatus for Advancing and Severing Strands. p

The conductor 25' (Fig. 2) passes around the pulley Ti andthen is coiled up by a coiling head as rotatably mounted on a support Bi and driven by a motor 82. When the coiling head is rotated by the motor 82 to take up the conductor 25, the traversing shaft 18 moves the pulley transversely with respect. to the rotating axis of the coiling head soas to distribute the conductor evenly on the coiling head. A secondcoiling head'fid is rotatably mounted on the stand BI and arranged to be driven by a motor 85. A counter 86 is arranged to be driven by the motor 12 so as to continuously register the footage of the conductor 25 taken up by the coiling heads 80 and 84. The second coiling head 84 is provided for the purpose of maintaining continuous coiling of the conductor 25, wherein, as soon as the coiling head in operation has coiled up a predetermined footage of the conductor 25, the conductorv is severed by the knife '13 and the leading end. of the conductor 25 emerging from the tube'lfi is secured to the empty coiling head. The motor driving the empty coiling head is energized and the coiling head coils up the condoctor 25 while the previously wound coil is removed from the coiling head. A cover 81 ispivotally mounted on the stand 81 so that it may be selectively positioned to enclose the cooling head that is rotating to coil up the conductor 25.

The coiling heads an and 84 and the cover 8! are disclosed and claimed in copending application Serial No. 738,444,.filed March 31, 1947, now Patent No. 2,561,736, issued July 24, 1951, by E. D. Hanson for Apparatus for Continuously Coiling Elongated Filaments.

The counter 86 (Fig. 3) may be any conventional type of counter having at least units, tenths and hundredths wheels S090 arranged to be driven by the motor 12 so as torecord the footage of the conductor 25 being coiled up by the coiling heads. A cam 9i (Figs. 3 and 4) is secured to the hundredths wheel 90 and is provided with a recess e2 positioned on its periphery. The cam 9! is secured to the hundredths wheel 90 so that the recess 92 is positioned between the digits "4 and 5 on the hundredths wheel, so that when the hundredths wheel is'advanced in a counterclockwise direction to bring the digit 8 opposite the window of the counter, the recess 92 engages a roller 93 mounted ona pivotally mounted arm 94. The roller 93 isurged against the periphery of the cam Si by a tension spring 95 secured between the free end of the arm, 94 and the counter structure. The free'end of the arm 94'is arranged to actuate the operating button of a sensitive switch 96. positioned in the counter each time the recess 92 moves under the roller 93.

A second cam 98 (Figs. 3 and 5) is also positioned on the counter wheel shaft so as to rotate with the hundredths wheel 90. The cam 98 is provided with a single lobe I having a predetermined peripherial length, and is oriented with respect to the digits on the hundredths wheels so that when the zero digit'is directly opposite the window in the counter, the leading end of the lobe I00 engages a roller IOI mounted on an arm I02 pivotally mounted in the counter housing. When the hundredths wheel is advanced-to bring the digit 2 opposite the window of the counter, the lobe I00 passes beyond the roller I04 and allows a spring I 06 to urge the arm I02 downwardly and actuate the operating button of another sensitive switch I positioned in the counter 86. The cams 9I and 98 are arranged on the counter to cause the coiling heads 80 and 04 normally to coil up 800 feet of the conductor 25, and to prevent them from coiling up less than 200 feet or more than 1000 feet of the conductor.

The counter 86 (Fig. 3) is provided with a mechanism for resetting the wheels 9090 to their normal starting position, the mechanism being arranged tobe actuated by movement of a lever I01 mounted on the counter housing. The lever I0! is arranged to be actuated by a solenoid I08 which has its armature connected to the end of the lever I01 by a connecting link I09.

connected to the leading end of the core wound on the reel I I0 in order that the capstans I2 and 40, the extruding apparatus, the vulcanizing apparatus and the coiling heads'80 and 04 remain in continuous operation. The ends of the cores are connected or spliced to each other by a suit-' able hook type of connector in which the respective portions of the connector are connected to the ends of their respective cores when it is Wound on the reels II and IIO.

A clamp, indicated generally at II2 (Figs. 1'

and 7), is mounted on the cutover tower under the pulley I6 to clamp the core I0 tightly in the groove of the pulley I6 to stop further advancement of the core I0 so that the ends of the conductors may be connected together. H2 is arranged to be actuated by a solenoid II3 whose energization is controlled by a runout switch II4 (Fig. 8) having an operating lever II5 held in its actuatedposition by the core being withdrawn from the reels II or II0. When the.

end of the core leaves either of the supply reels, the tension in the end of the core is lost and the lever is released to its normal or vertical position as shown in broken lines in Fig. 8.

The clamp I I2 (Fig. 7) provided on the cutover tower I8, consists of an arm I I6 secured to a shaft II'I rotatably mounted in a suitable'manneron the support carrying the pulleys I0 and I1. A shoe I20 is secured on the shaft I I1 so that when the arm I I0 is actuated to its broken line position The clamp f I38. The relay I35 has its operating coil I40 6 (Fig. 7), the right end of the-shoe engages the core I0 and clamps it tightly against the'b'ottom of the groove of the pulley I6." "The opposite end of the shoe I20 is arrangedto engage anoperating lever I 2I of a switch'I22 a1sofmounted' on the support carrying the pull ys I6 and IT. The

solenoid H3 is mountedo'n the bracket I23 se cured to the pulley -support 'andfits-plunger is connected to the en'djof thearm III; by a connecting link I24. A spring I25 is positioned between a point on the p lley support of the cutover tower andthe end of the arm Il fi' so' as to hold the arm in its full line position shown in Fig. 7. The core I0 is groundedat the supply reels II and H0, and'at the coiling heads and 84, which grounds are'indicated at'l 26I25'. One method of grounding the coreI0 at'the coiling heads 80 and B4 is disclosed and claimed'in copending application Serial No. 24,313, filed April 30, 1948, by E. D. Hanson, for Collapsible Coiling Heads. V i

A high voltage testing circuit isprovided in which one side thereof isc'onne'cted tothe same ground I26 and the othersi'de thereof is connected to the electrodes 55 andIi'I'.- As a result, when the conductorv 25 engages the electrodes 55 and Ill, a voltage'is impressed across the insulating jacket of the conductonhavingan intensity sufiicient to break down any faults in the insulation which provide paths of reduced dielectric strength between the electrodes and the grounded metallic conductor-(of the-core I0. When the shoe I20 is turned to clamp the end of the core I0 against further movement, it also jactuates the lever I2 I' which in'turn-opens a contact of the switch I22 to deene'rgi'ze the electrode 55 and 6'! ma manner hereina fter to be described.

The coilingapparatus described hereinabove is automatically controlled by an electrical circuit shown in Figs. 9 and 10 so thatit will continuously coil up coils having: a predetermined footage of good conductor 25-thereon', which' 'footage is varied according to the footage of the conductor coiled up at the time a-connectionis made between the ends of the cores at the supply reels. The electrical 'circuit shown schematically in Figs. 9 and 10, comprises "a'pair of low voltage busses I30 and I 3-I "from which all the control apparatus receives its operating voltage.

The solenoid II3,'whichis-arranged to actuate the clamp is connected across the busses I30 and I3I in series with afnormally closedcontact I33 provided in the wheat switch I14, the contact I33 being maintained in its open position when its operating lever II 5 engages the core I0 being withdrawn from the supply reel. The solenoid coil 14, which aotuates the cutter blade 13, is connected across the busses I30 and I3I in series with a normally open contact I34 provided on a relay I35.; The solenoid I08, whichis arranged to actuate-the reset lever 101 of the counter 86, is connected across the "busses I30 and I3I in series with a normally open contact I 31 provided one relay indicated generally at connected across the busses I30 and'I3I in series with a normally open'contact I41 provided on a relay I42. The relay'-I38'has*=its operating coil I45, connected across thebus sesI30 and I3I in series with a normally open contact I45 provided on the relay I42 and thecontacts' I4'I-I4'I of the switch I22, which-contacts are arranged to be engaged by anarm- I48 actuated by the lever I2I. The switch I22 is provided with a second 7 na ci: contacts fill-I50; wh c a e ngaged by the. arm; I 8 when the clamp 231s in its op pos tion. showv in e- The sw tc I05, wh ch ismou t d in h counter 30, is provided with a pair of contacts II-I 5| which are engaged for a predetermined portion of each coiling operation by an arm I52 whose movement is controlled by the cam 00.

The switch I05 has ;a second pair of contacts I53-I53 which are arranged to be selectively engaged by the arm I52 according to the position oi the cam 90-. The switch 56, which is mounted in the counter 06, is provided with a normally open contact I55, arranged to be actuated to its closed position by the arm 60 when the recess 02; passes under the roller 03 carried by the arm. The contacts I41 and I50 of the switch I22 which are adjacent to the bus I3I are connected together, and the contacts I5I and I53 015 the switch I05 which-are adjacent to the bus I are connected together. The coil I45 of the relay I30 is connected across the busses I30 and, I3! when the contact arm I52 of the switch I05 engages the contacts I5I-I5I and the contact arm I48 of the switch I22 engages the contacts HIT-I41. The coil I45 is also connected across the--busses I30 and I3I in series with the contact I46 oi the relay I02, the contacts I53-I53 of the switch I05 and the contact I55 of the. Switch 96.

The relay I42 has its operating coil I56 connected across the busses I30 and I3I in series with the contact I55 of the switch 06 and the contacts I50-I50 provided in the switch I22, which is arranged to be actuated by the solenoid H3. The, coil I56 is also connected across the busses I30 and I3I by an alternate circuit when the contact arm I52 of the switch I05 engages the contacts I53-I53 and the contact arm I48 engages the contacts I41-I41 of the switch I22. The relay I is provided with a spring loaded mechanism for latching the contact arms of the relay in the, position they assume when the coil I is energized, and a reset coil I60 for actuating the latching mechanism to release the contact arms to their normal positions.

An operating coil I62 (Fig. 9) of a relay IE3, is connected acrossthe busses I30 and I3I in series with a normally open contact I64 arranged to be actuated to itsclosed position by a current coil I05 forming part of a current relay I66. The operating coil I62 oi the relay I63, is arranged to actuate a normally closed contact I61 which connects anindicating lamp I38 across the busses I30 and I3I and a normally open contact I10, which contact, when closed connects a second indicating lamp I1I across the busses. The relay I63 is provided with a spring loaded mechanism arranged to latch the contacts I61 and I10 in the position they assume when the coil I62 is energized and arcoil I12 is provided for actuating the latch mechanism to release the contacts I61 and I10 to their normal position.

An operating coil I15, of a time delay relay I16, is connected across the busses I30 and HM in series with contacts I11-.-I11 normally bridged by a contact arm I18 of a push button I10 and a normally closed contact I130 provided on the switch I22. A coil I8I of a relay I82, is connected across the busses I30 and I3I in series with a parallel circuit including a normally open contact I83 provided on a motor contactor I80 and a normally open contact I85 provided on a motor contactor I86, the contacts I63 and I85 being c nec ed in parallel, a a nor a ope 8 contact I81 of the timedelay relay I16. An auto transformer I90 is connected across the busses I30 and I3I in series with a normally closed con tact I9I of the relay I35, and anormally open contact I02 of the relay I82. A step-up transformer I93 has its primary winding I04 connected across the terminals of the transformer I00 and its secondary winding I05 arranged to have one side thereof connected directly to testing electrodes 55 and 61 and the other terminals thereof connected to the coil I65 of the current relay I66. The other side of the coil I55 is connected to ground indicated generally at I26 in which case, this side, of the coil is the same potential as the core I0 since it is grounded through the supply reels at ground I26. The wiring diagram shown in Fig. 10 is a continuation of the diagram shown in Fig. 9 when Fig. 10 is positioned directly below Fig. 9.

Referring now to Fig. 10, a pair of limit switches indicated generally at 200 and 20I are positioned on the support BI so that they are actuated by the cover 81 pivotally mounted on the support. The switches 200 and EM are so arranged on the support that when the cover 81 encloses the coiling head the contact arms of the switches assume their full line positions, and when the cover encloses the coiling head 50,- thecontact arms of the switches assume their broken line positions. The reset coils I60 and I12 (Fig. 9), which are provided on the relays I35 and I03, respectively, are connected in parallel with each other and the parallel circuit is connected to the busses I30 and I3I in series with contacts 202- 202 of the switch 20I and the contacts 203-203 of the switch 200. The relay I86 has its operating coil 205 connected across the busses I30 and I3I in series with the contacts 206-230 of the switch 200, a normally closed contact 201 provided on the relay I35 and the normally open contacts provided in a push button 200. They switch 200 is provided with a third pair of contacts 2 III-2 I0, one of which is connected directly to the bus I 30. The contacts 203-203, and 203-206 of the switch 200 are arranged to be selectively engaged by a contact arm 2 and the contacts 2I0-2 I0 are arranged to be engaged by a contact arm 2I2, the arms 2H and 2I2 being arranged to be simultaneously actuated by movement of the cover 81.

The relay I84 has its operating coil 2l5 connected across the busses I30 and I3I in series with contacts 2I6-2I6 provided on the limit switch 20I, the normally closed contact 201 of the relay I35 and the normally open contacts of the push button 208. A relay 2I1 is provided with an operating coil 2I0 which is connected across the busses I30 and I3I in series with contacts 220-220 provided on the switch 20I, a normally closed contact 22I provided on a relay 222 forming part of a motor driven timer indicated generally at 223 and the contacts of the push button 208. The contacts 2I0-2I0 of the switch 200 are connected in parallel with the con tacts 220-220 of the switch 20 I in which case the contacts 2I0-2 I0 provide an alternate circuit for the coil 2I8 of the relay 211. The switch 201 is provided with a contact arm 225 which is arranged to selectively engage the contacts 202-202 or the contacts 2I5-2I6 and a contact arm 226 which is arranged to engage the-contacts 220-220. A normally open contact 230, which is provided on the relay I35, is connected across the busses I30 and I3I in series with the parallel circuit including the contacts 2I0-2I0 of the switch 200 and the contacts 220-220 of the switch 20I, a normally open contact 23I of 223, an operating coil 232 of the timer relay 222 and the contacts of the push button 208.

The normally open contact 23I provided on the timer 223 is arranged to be actuated by a cam 233 driven by a motor 234. The motor 234 provided in the timer 223 for rotating the cam 233 is connected across the busses I30 and I3I in series with-the parallel circuit-including the contacts 2I0-2I0 and 220-220 of the limit switches 200 and 20I. respectively, the normally open contact 230 of. the relay I35, the normallyclosed contact 22I of the relay 222 and the contacts of the push button 208. The relay 2" is provided with three normally open contacts 236-236 arranged-to be actuated to their closed position by-the coil =2I8 and connect the motor 12, which drives the capstan 10, to terminals 231-231to which a suitable source of three phase A. 0. potential (not shown) may be connected. The relay I86 is provided with three normally open contacts 240-240 arranged to be actuated to their closed position by the coil 205 and connect themotor 85, which drives the coiling head'04, to the potential terminals 231-231. The relay I84 is provided with three normally open contacts 242-242 arranged to be actuated to their closed position by the coil 2I5- and, connect themotor 82, which drives the coiling head 80, to the potential terminals 231-231.- The busses I 30 and I 3I are connected across one phase of the three phase system connected to the terminals 231-231.

' Operation Let it be assumed that the end ofthe core I has been withdrawn from the reel II, threaded through the extruding-head 23, the vulcanizing tube 28, the cooling tube 30, the air-wiper 31, the testing apparatus indicated generally at 58 and secured to the coiling head 80 and that the apparatus has been operating for such a time that a completely insulated and vulcanized'conductor 25 has reached the coiling head 80. The normally open contacts of the push button 208 are actuated to the closed position and are arranged to be mechanically latched in. their closed position until the latch mechanism is actuated to release them. While the end of the'conductor 25 is being secured to the coiling head 80, the cover 81 is positioned to enclose the empty coiling head 84. When the conductor2 is properly secured to the coiling head '80, the cover then ismoved to enclose the coiling head 80, whereupon the movement of the cover actuates the limitswitches 200 and 20! to their positions shown in Fig. 10, that is/the contact arms 2 I I and 2 I2'of the switch 200 engage the contacts 203-203 and disengage the contacts 2 I0-2I 0, respectively, whereas the arms 225 and 226 of the switch'20I, engage the contacts 2I0-2I6 and 220-220, respectively.

With the limit switches 200 and 20 l actuated to theirfull line positions, the contact arm 225 of the switch 20 I, connects the coil ZI 5 across the busses I30 and I3I in series with the normally closed contact 201 of therelay I35 and the closed contacts of the'push button 208'. The coil 2I5' of the relay I84 is thereby energized and closes the contacts 242-242 to connect the motor 82 to the potential supply terminals 231-231. The

arm 220 of the switch 20I bridges the contacts 220-220 and connects the coil2I8 of the relay 2" across the busses I 30 and I3I in series with the normally closed contact '22I; provided on the relay 222 of the timer 223- and'the' closed contacts of the push button 208; I Thus, the movement of the cover to enclose the'coiling head '80 causes simultaneous energization of themotors 12 and 82, whereupon the capstan advances the conductor 25 from the capstan .40 and the coiling head 80 coils up the conductor 25..

The tension created on the conductor 25 by the simultaneous operation of the capstan 1'0 and the coiling head 80 is sufiicient to overcome the spring mechanism provided inthe drum 50, in which case, the pulley '44, mounted on the sliding bracket 45, isdrawn to its extreme left-hand position at the track 48. The coiling apparatus is started up in this manner with the pulley 20 latched in its lowermost position shown in Fig. 1. The tension in the-core In between the reel II and th capstan I2 is regulated by braking the reel I I against-rotation and is sufficient to maintain the arm II5 of the switchI I4 in its actuated position and hold the normally closed contact I33 thereof in the openpos'ition. The solenoid H3, which is provided for actuating the clamp II2, remains deenergizedso long as the tension on the core I0 holds the contact I 33 in the open position. T I

Upon the energization of the relay I84 which connects themotor 82 to the. potentialsupply terminals 231-231, the-normally open contact I83 is closed, thereby connectingthe coil I8I of the relay I82-across the busses I 30 and I3I in series with the normally open contact I81 of the relay I18. However, therel ay I16 is;arranged to have its 0011 I15 energized as soon as the busses I30 and I3I are energized and pIQvided that the contact I18 of the push button I19 and the contact I80 of the switch I22 are in their normally closed positions. Therefore; the closure of the contact I83 energizes the coil I8I, which in turn, closes the normally open contact I92 and connects the auto transformer I90 across the busses I 30 and I3I. The auto transformer I90 thereby is energized and supplies a predetermined potential across the primary winding I94 of the transformer I93, whichtransformer creates a high potential across the secondary winding I95 and, consequently, across the electrodes 55 and 61 and ground indicated generally at I26. Since the metallic conductorof the core I0 is connected tor being taken up by the coiling head 80 doesnot contain any faults therein which provide pathsof reduced dielectric strength between the electrodes 55 and 61 and the metallicfconductor ofthe core I 0;which is grounded at I 26.

When the motor 12- islenergized to drive the capstan 10, the counter 80 also is driven by the motor 12 andrecords the footage of the conductor 25 beingcoiled up'by the coiling head 80.- -At the start of "the coiling operation of the coiling head 88,.- the. counting wheels 90-90 of the counter 86 were positioned so'that theze ro digit of each counting wheel was positioned directly opposite the window of l the counter, in which caseLthe' cam's'9I and 98' attached to thehuri-V dredths wheels were positioned as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, respectively. As the coiling'head.80 con-' tinues to coil up the conductor; the cam 98 is advanced by the hundredths-Wheel ofithe counter to-such a position that ayaut st e conl1 tact arm I52 to disengage the contacts I5I-I5I and engage the contactsI53-I53. The coiling head continues. to coilup the conductor until the hundredths wheelhas advanced the cam'SlI so as to position the recess 32 directly under the roller 93 mounted on the end of the arm 54 (Fig. 4).

This position of the recess 92 permits the spring 35 to pull the arm 94 downwardly and actuate the normally open contact I55of the switch 35 jto its closed position. Closure of the contact I55 connects the coil I53 of the relay I42 across the busses I and I3I in series with the contact arm I43 which'engages the contacts I50- I50 of the clamp actuated switch I22. gization of the coil I55 simultaneously closes its associated normally open contacts I l! and I45, in which position the contact MI energizes the coil I40 of the relay I and the contact I45 energizes the coil I 55 of the relay I38. Energization of the coil I closes the contact I33 and energizes the cutter solenoid 14 which in turn urges the knife 13 downwardly to sever the advancing conductor 25. Energization of the coil I35 closes the contact I31 which connects the solenoid I08 across the busses I33 and HI. Energization of the solenoid I03 serves to reset the counting wheels 90-50 of the counter 88 to their normal starting position, that is, the counting wheels 93-90 are turned until the zero digit of each wheel ispositioned directly opposite the window of the counter. Energization of the coil I40 of the relay I35 opens the normally closed contact I5I ahead of the closure of the contact I34 and disconnects the auto transformer I90 from the busses I30 and I3I whereby the electrodes 55 and 61 of the testing apparatus 56 are deenergized before the conductor is severed by the knife 13. Energization of the coil I50 of the relay I35 also opens the normally open contact 201 which disconnects the coil 2I5 of the relay I84 from the busses I30 and I3I. The deenergization of the coil 2I5 allows the contacts 242-242 to open and disconnect the motor 82 from the supply terminals 231-231, whereupon the-coiling head 80 comes to a stop after the solenoid 14 is energized to actuate the knife 13.

While the energization of the coil I40 of the relay I35 serves to deenergize the motor 82 to bring the ceiling head 80 to a stop, the deenergization of the motor 12 driving the capstan 13 is delayed for a predetermined period of time by virtue of the fact that the motor 234 of the timer is not energized until the closure of the contact 230 of the relay I35. The timer motor 234 turns the cam 233 until it closes the normally open contact 23! and thereby connects the coil 232 of the relay 222 across the busses I35 and I3I. Energization of the coil 232 opens the normally closed contact 22I which disconnects the coil 2I8 of the relay 2I1 from the busses I30 and I3I, whereupon the contacts 236-236 drop open and disconnect the motor 12 from the supply terminals 231-231. The timer 223 is adjusted to delay the deenergizatio-n of the motor 12 with respect to-the deenergization of the motor 82 topermit the capstan 10 to ad- Vance a sufficient length of the conductor 25 through the tube 16 after they conductor has been severed with the knife 13 so that the leading end of the conductor 25 may be secured to the empty coiling head 84. When the timer completes its predetermined timing cycle, the motor 12 is deenergized, whereupon movement of the conductor 25 at the coiling head is terminated Eneri 12 temporarily. During the" period of time that the conductor 25 is-not'being} coiled up, the spring mechanism of the drum-EUpull's-the pulley 44 to the right and forms a reverse loop in a path of travel'of the conductor 25- betwee'nth capstan 45 and the capstan 10. The relay I35 is provided with a latching mechanism arranged to hold the contacts I34, I9I,'20'I and 230 in their actuated positions. The open contact I3I maintains an open circuit to the auto transformer I90,-and the opencontact 231 maintains an open cireuit' to the coils 205 and H5 of the relays I85 and I84, respectively. Thus, by virtue of thelatching in mechanism of the relay I35, the coiling head remains inoperative until the cover 81 provided on the support 8| is moved from the full-coiling head 80 to a position enclosing the coiling head M. As the cover 81 passes through its mid position between the coiling heads it positions the contact arm 225 of the switch 20I in engagement with the contacts 202-202 while the'arm 2II of the switch 200 remains in engagement with the contacts 203-233, whereby the reset coil I60 of-the relay I35 is connected across the busses I30 and I3I through the contact arms 2 and'225.- Energization of the reset coil I60 actuates the latching mechanism of the relay I35 and allows its contacts to resume their normal operating positions. When the cover 8Iis positioned directly over the coiling head 84, the contact arms of the switches 200 and 21H assume their broken line positions shown in Fig. 10 of the wiring diagram, in which case, the circuit to the reset coils I and I12 is interrupted by the movement of the contact arm 2II to its position engaging the contacts 206-205 of the switch 200.

This movement of the-contact arm'2l I, how.- ever, connects the coil 205 ofthe relayHISE across the busses I30 and I3I in series with the normally closed contact 2010f the relay I35 and the contacts of the push button 208. Energization of the coil 205 closes the contacts 240-240, which connects the motor .85 to the supply terminals 231-231. The motor 85 is thereby energized and rotates the coiling head 84 which coils up the conductor 25. The relay 2I1 is energized simultaneouslywith the energization of the relay I33, and connects the motor .12 to the terminals 231-231, whereupon the capstan i3 and the coiling head '84 cooperate to advance the conductor 25 from the. capstan 40. The counter 86, which was reset to its normal starting position upon, the energization of the relay I42 caused by the cam 9i; records the footage.

of the conductor 25 being coiled up on the coiling head 84. Upon the releaseof' the latching mechanism of the relay I35 the movement of the cover 81 as describedhereinabove, 'the high potential testingjcircuit to'the electrodes 55 and 61 is energized againby the closure of the contact I9I provided on the relay I35.

The coiling head 84 continues-to operate in the same manner as that-described for the coiling head until the cam SI again is advanced by the hundredthswheelv .90 until the recess 92 passes under the roller 93 and permits the arm 9-1 to actuate the switch 96 so that its normally open contact again energizes the coil I56 of the relay I42. Energization of the relay I42 in turn energizes the relays I35 and I38, which relays in turn energize the cutter solenoid M to sever the conductor 25, the. solenoid I08 to reset the counter 83 to its normal starting position, deenergize the motor driving the-coiling head 84, and energize the timer 223.

The leading end of the conductor 25 is attached to the empty coiling head 80 and when the cover 81 'is moved to enclose the coiling head' 80, the motor 82 is energized and the coiling head 80 again coils up the conductor25 in the manner described. The coiling heads 80 and 85 continue to alternately coil up the conductor 25 into coils having a predetermined footage per coil, which footage is determined, in each case, by the camSI operated by the counter 86 so long as the core I is being withdrawn either from the reel II or the reel H0. When it is necessary to switch over from the reel I I to the reel I I0, or vice versa, the position of the cam 98 in the counter when theclamp H2 is actuated for the purpose of making the switchover determines whether the conductor is to be severed by'the knife I3 and the coiling operation terminated at the time the connection is made between the cores or the operation of the knife and the termination of the coiling operation is to be delayed until an additional footage of the conductor as determined by the cam III has been added to the coil. When it appears that the reel II is about to be exv hausted of the core III, the pulley 20 is unlatched and the braking force applied to the reel II is reduced so that the weight connected to the pulley overcomes the tension in the core and pulls the pulley to its uppermost position i out switch H4 assumes its broken line position (Fig. 8). This movement of the arm H5 closesthe contact I33 and connects the solenoid H3 across the busses I and I 3I The energization of the solenoid H3 draws the arm H6 downwardly against the action of the tension spring I24 and rotates the shaft III so as to turn the shoe I20 in position to clamp the core ID against the bottom of the groove provided in the sheave I 5 of the cutover tower I8. This operation of the solenoid H3 and the clamp II2 prevents further movement of the trailing end of the core Ill so that it may be connected to the leading end of a core wound on the supply reel I I0. While the connection is being made, the capstans I2 and continue to rotate in their respective directions, in which case, the capstan I2 creates a tension in the core Ill between the clamp H2 and the capstan I2 sufficient to overcome the weight holding the pulley 20 at the top of the cutover tower and pulls the pulley 20 downwardly. This movement of the pulley 20 permits the continuous advancement of the core I0 and the conductor 25 through the vulcanizing and cooling apparatus to the coiling head in operation while the connection is being made.

As soon as the connection of the cores is completed, the core I0 then is positioned to actuate the arm H5 of the switch H4 to its full line position, whereupon the solenoid H3 is deenergized and the clamp H2 returns to its normal position releasing the core I0 so that it may be withdrawn from the supply reel H0. The connection between the endsjof the cores passes through the extruding head 23 and has an insulating jacket extruded therearound the same as the core II); The connection between the cores is not designed to provide continuity between the metallic cores in the conductor 25 and it is therefore necessary to prevent-the connections from being included in coils taken up byethecoilingheads -and.84. To prevent the splices-from beingincluded in the coils taken up by .the: coiling, heads, the length of the path ofztravel ,of the core; Ill-and the conductor 25 from the; clamp II-2 to the knifel3 is made equal to the normal footage of the conductor 25 wound up on the coiling heads 80 and 84 determined by thecam 9|.

Let it be assumed that the coiling head 80 is in operation at the time the core I0 is completely withdrawn from the supply reel H and the; clamp H2 is actuated to hold the end of the core so that it may be connected to the core woundon the reel III]. If the coiling head 80 has coiled up a footage of the conductor 25 ;at this point which is greater than the minimumfootage required per'coil, the cam 9| has not been advanced a distance required to terminate a normal coil, but the cam 98 has been advanced by the counter 85 so that the lobe IIlii is advanc d beyond the roller IIlI and the arm Ill2moved downwardly by the spring I65 to actuate the, contact arm I52 of the, sensitive. switch I05 so. that itv engages the contacts I 53I53. When the contact arm I52 engages the contacts I 53-I 53 and the clamp I I2 is actuated due to the closure" of the runout switch H5, the relay I42 is energized, which in turn, energizes the, relay I35. The relay I35, when energized, closes its normallyopen contact I34, which in turn, energizes the solenoid I4 which aotuates the knife to sever theconductor 25.

Energization of the relay I35 also opens the contacts I 9| and 201 which deenergizes the motor 82 driving the coiling head 80 and the transformer I93 supplying the high potential to the electrodes 55' and 61 in the manner described for the termination of a normal coil by the cam 9I. The leading end of the severed conductor 25 is connected to the coiling head 84 and the cover 87 positioned to enclose the coiling head 84 and place it in operation to coil up the conductor 25. When the connection, which was made between the cores while the clamp H2 was actuated, reaches the knife, the normal footage of the conductor required per coil has been coiled up by the coiling head 80 and the cam 9| on the counter initiates a series of operations of the electrical apparatus in the sequence described above to sever the conductor 25 and terminate the coiling operation of the coiling head '84. Since the conductor 25 was severed close to the connection formed between the-cores of the conductor, it is a relatively simple matter for an operator to examinethe leading end of the conductor 25 and determine the position of the connection so that it may be cut out before a subsequent coiling operationis initiated onthe coiling head 80.

Assuming that the coiling head 80 is in operation at the time the core III iswithdrawn from the reel 'II as described above, let it be further assumed that when the runout switch energizes the solenoid H3 to actuate the clamp H2, the coiling head 80 has coiled up a footage of the conductor 25 which is less than the minimum footage of conductor required per coil. When this condition exists, the cam -9I has not been turned an amount sufiicient to terminate a normal coil and the cam 98 has not been turned sufficiently to advance the lobe I00 beyond the roller IDI,,in which case, the contact arm I52 remains in engagement with the contacts I5I-+I5I of the switch I05. Since the contact arm I 52'remains in engagement with the contacts I5I-I35I;,.only-the coil I45 of the relay I38'is accepts;

connected across-the b'us'ses 130 land 13! when the contact arm i 13 ol the-switch 122 is actuated by the clamp l rate engage its contacts 1 1 1-147 Energization of the coil M closes the contact It? whichconnects the solenoid I09 across the usses 138 and 13h The solenoid W8 is energized thereby and resets the counting wheels lit-9G and the cams 9i 'and EBof the counter "86 to their normal starting positions. Since the relay 135 is not energized when the :clamp 'I I2 is actuated under these conditions, the coiling head 83 continues ts coil up the conductor 25 and operate by the counter -86. Since the reset counter was {reset when the clamp M2 was actua-t'ed, the normal footage of the conductor 25 must he added to the footage already coiled up on the ceiling head so 'b'ef'or'e' the cam 9l again is advanced sufiiciently to sever the conductor and terminate the coiling operation in the manner described. The connection made "between the cores while the clamp was in its actuated position will reach a point adjacent toEthe knife 13 when the knife 1'3 is actuated to sever the conductor 25;!oecausthe coiling head 80,-'in coiling up the additional normal footage of the "con- 'ductor will advance the connection to this point by the time'thecam 9! --'al low'-s the'contac't |5'5't0 close. Due to the position of the splice it may be readily cut out of the conductor "25 before -'a subsequent coiling operation of the conductor is initiated.

When the core it runs out under these conditions,theiootage of'th'e conductor 25 coiledup by the coiling head 8i) before it is terminated by the cam on, contains thenormal footage plus that footage of the conductor which 'had been coiled up by the coiling head Bil-at the time the-connection was made "between the cores. However, the total footage coiled up by the coiling head 86 is within the maximumfootage permitted per coil due to 'thearrangement of the-cams "SI and so on 't hecounter 86. That is, if the 'co'ilinghea'd in operation has coiled "up-a footage in excessof the minimum footage allowed per coil, the conductor is severed and the coiling operation terminated when the clamp M2 is actuated, whereas, if thecoiling 'head has/coiled unless than the minimum' footage required per cell, the coiling operation is not terminated until the normal footage 'has'been addedto the coil'in process.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention more clearly, 'let it he assumed 'thatthe normal coils to he coiled up by the coiling heads 80 and shall contain 800 'feet of the-conductor'-25,that the maximum iootage of the conductorL25 per-coil shall not exceed "1000 feet and that the-minimum footage per coil shall not be less .than 200 feet of the conductor 25. isince thenormal.coilsare to contain 800 feet of the conductor .25, it is necessary to provide a path of travel ior'the core and theconductor through the apparatus so that thelength of the conductor between the clamp ii2, adjacenttothecutover tower i8, and the knife 73 adiacenttc the "coiling heads :will be 800 feet. I-he oam 91 is secured to the hundredths wheel or the counter so that the recess "82 will'pass under the roller 9'3 provided on the arm B kes the hundredths wheel is :advanced to bring -'thedigit 8 Idirectly'in line with the window of *the counter. The-recess 92 allows the arm 'to momentarily close the contact 155 of .the switch 86, whichsets up aseries of operations of the electrical apparatus which sever the conductorandterniinate the coiling operation. The cam 9i, therefore, determines thel'n'ormal footage of 116 the conductor tQJbe. wound onthe coiling heads $6 andffit.

To prevent the coil from containing less than the minimum footage or more than maximum footage of the conductor 25, the cam 98 is positioned on the hundredths wheel Bilof the counter so that the lobe 2109 remains in engagement with the roller iifll mountedon'the arm l-fi2 while the coilinghead in 'operationiis coiling-up the first 200 fe'etcf the conductor 25. The cam .98 "is so arranged that when the counter indicates that 260 feet of the conductor 25 has been coiled :up by the coiling headfin operation, the lobe l 88 has been advanced beyond the :roller I91, whereup'on the spring I 06 causes the arm H32 to actuate the arm 52 of thQ SWJ'ZtCh 1'95 so that the contact arm --I-l75 is disengaged from the contacts 45-1-4 51 and engages the contacts 453- I 53. The ceiling head :in operation continues to operate with the switch H15 in this position until {800 feet of the conductor has been coiled up, at which point the lobe 112 of 'the cam 91 passes under the rolleril3 and allows the arm '94 to'close the contact [5-5 of the switch '96, which effects the subsequent energization of therelays M2 and I35, and the solenoid 14 to sever the conductor and terminatethe coiling operation. 'As long as the core 1B is being withdrawn from either of the supply-reels H or NO, the cam 98 does not play any part in the termination of the 800 root-coils wound'on the coiling-heads, as each 800 foot coil is terminated by the cam 9'! as stated *hereinabove. The coiling heads 8B and Malternately coil up 800 foot coils until it is necessary to connect the trailing end of the core 'being withdrawn from an empty reel to the leading end of the core wound on the full reel.

Let it he assumed that the core I9 is being withdrawn. from the supply reel I I and that the coiling head .80 is coiling up the conductor 25 wh'enit becomes necessary to connect the core H! on the 'supplyreel 119 so as to maintain continuous coiling of'the'conductor. Letit further be assumed that the ceiling head 88 has coiled up less than 20.0 feet 'of the conductor 25 when the core -lii 'leaves'the reel 'H and the solenoid H3 actuates the clamp H2 to prevent further movement of the -trailing end of the core l0.

Under these conditions, the .lobe 106 still engages the roller i6! 'an'dh'olds -the armout of engagemen't'with the operating button of the switch H; thereby leaving :the contact arm 1-52 l 5 I I5 I .in engagement with the contacts Since the position of the 'cam'98'prevents actuation .of .the contact I55, the actuation of the clamp 2 merely moves the contact arm 148 into engagement with the contacts J ll-I41 and thereby connects theflcoil T45 of the relay r38 across the busses 3B and Hi. 'Energization of the coil M5 in turn energizes .the solenoid 114 which wresetsthe counter 585 to its starting positionfin which case, the 0 Ldigitof each "counting wheel 99 isaligned with'therwindow 'ofthe counter. Actuation of the clamp"! I25also opens the normally closed contact of "the switch I22 which in turn disconnects thet'coil 1150f the time delay relay .116 from the busses. The time delayrelay 11.6 .is .deenergized and in "turn "deenergizes the relay [3'2 which disconnects the auto transformerfrom the .busses and thereby deenergizes the-transformer 193 and consequently the electrodes 55 and Q61 while the connection is being made.

conductor 25 while the clamp is actuated, whereby a substantial portion of the-loop formed in the path of. travel of thecore I around the pulleys I6,20 and ll of the cutover tower is absorbed. When the connection between the cores is completed, the arm H is actuated to open the contact I33 and 'deenergize the solenoid II3, whereupon the clamp II2 is released and the capstan I2 withdraws the core from the reel I I0. The apparatus is arranged to operate in this manner because a coil containing less than 800 feet is not a commercially acceptable length of conductor and if such coils were terminated each time a splice was made there would result a substantial waste of the conductor 25. Since the counter wasreset to 0 by the actuation of the clamp I I2, the coiling head 80 continues to coil up the conductor 25 until 800 feet of the conductor has been added to the coil which was on the coiling head BIl at the time the connection was'made between the cores.

When the counter again registers 800 feet, the coiling operationis terminated and the conductor issevered sol that the leading end of the conductor 25 ;may' be. attached to the coiling head 84 and the coiling head 84 placed in operation by fthemofvement of the cover 81 as previously described. By arranging the path of travel of the conductor 25 so that-800 feet of the conductor isflposition'ed between, the clamp H2 and the knife when the pulley 20 is in its uppermost position on the cutover tower, the connectionb etween the cores reaches a position substantially adjacent to the knife when the counter registers'800 feet and the cam 9| causes the operation of the solenoid 14 which severs the conductor. While the coil on thecoiling head 80 contains more than800' feet'of the conductor 25, it does notexceed the maximum footage of 1000 feet sinceethe additional 800 feet were added to acoil on the coilinghead which contained less I than the 200 feet of the conductor 25. Since the conductor 25,is 1severed close to the connection it is a, relativelyfsirnple matter to locate the connection and remove .it from the conductor 25 before aj..s"ubseduent'coiling operation is initiated by the movement of the cover 81.

Now let it be assumed that the coiling head 80 has coiled up more'than 200 feet of the conductor 25 when the end ofthe core is withdrawn from the reel II and theelalilp I I2 is actuated to clamp the core toth'e pulley-Hi so that the core may be connected together as described. Since more than 200 feet of the conductor was coiled up before the clamp" I I=2fiwas actuated to prevent further ovement or the core I, the addition of 800 feet to such a coil would produce a coil having a conductor footage exceeding the 1000 foot limit per coil.- Underthese conditions, the cam 98 has been advanced by the hundredths wheel of thecounterfso that'the lobe IE0 is disengaged from-the'roller IOI and the arm I02 is allowed to move downwardly and actuate thecontact arm I52 of'th'e switch-I05 so that it disengages the contacts I-5I" I5I= and engages the contacts l53- I53.

' With-the contact arm I52 of the switch 105,

and thelcontact arm I48 of the switch I22 in their actuated positions, the operating coil I55 of the relay 142 is jconnectedacross the busses I30 and I3I in series with the contact arms M8 and I52. Energization of thecoil I56 closes the normally open contacts MI and I45, whichin turn, energizegthe coil I40 of the relay I35 and the coil I45 oftherelay I38, respectively. QED-GI- gization of the relay I35 causes the solenoid I4 to sever the conductor 25 and the termination of the coiling operation while the energization of the relay I38 causes'the solenoid I08 to reset the counter wheels 9090 to their normal starting positions. Since the coil on the coiling head contains more than 200 feet of the conductor 25, the cam 88 is arranged to c'ause'the conductor to be severed and the coiling operation terminates so that the next succeeding coiling operation will produce a normal 800 foot coil on'the coiling head 84. When the subsequent coiling operation is initiated, the connections between the cores reaches a position adjacentto the knife 13 when the counter again registers 800 feet at which point the conductor is severed and the coiling operation terminated. Under these conditions, the splice again is located near the end of the completed coil or the leading end of thenext coil and may be removed therefrom before a subse,- quent coiling operation is'initiated.

The cams HI and 98 are arranged on the counter 86 to produce coils on the coiling heads 80 and 84 which comply with the assumed requirements regarding the normal minimum and maximum footage of the conductor 25 to be wound on each coil. vThe cams are arranged to control the coiling heads through the electrical apparatus described so; that they normally coil up 800 foot coils and to prevent the coiling of the conductor 25 into'coils which contain lessthan 200 feet, or more than 1000 feet of the conductor per coil. Obviously, the assumedlimits regarding the footage of'the conductor to be wound on each coil by the coiling heads is used for purposes of illustrating the invention and may be varied to suit requirements dictated by other types of filamentary articles Without departing from-' the spirit and scope of the invention.

By arranging the camsSI and 9B in the m nner described, the connections made; :between the cores are preventeda'fmm beingincluded in the coilswound on the coiling heads because, in each instance, when a connection is made between the cores the conductor always will be severed at a point substantially close to the connection so that itrmay beremoved fromthe conducton To obtain'this feature with any other assumed footage limits per coil, it isnecessary to position in the pathof travelof'the conductor or other filamentary articles, a length of the filamentary article equal to the footage of the filamentary article to be coiled up in a normal coil. Inthis manner the connection between the filamentary articles always is adjacent to the knife at the timethe filamentaryarticle is severed, whereby it may be readily removed from the;article.

In the preferred embodimentof. the invention the pulley 20 isheld at its lowermost position on the cutover tower I8 except when it is necessary to switch over from an exhausted supply reel to a full supply. reel, and the path of travel of the conductor is 800:feet long'only while the pulley is so positioned to assure. that the connection between the conductors will'be-at the end of the coil.v However, it isto be {understood that the apparatus'may be operated with the pulley 20 positioned at, thetop of'the cutover tower .at all times when the conductor is notgripped by the clamp I I2 so that the lehgthof the path of travel -is"normal1y 800 feet. Whenj the, clamp H2 is 19' ratus operates under this arrangement in the same manner as that described for the preferred embodiment of the invention to produce coils normally having 800 feet of the conductor, or coils having a minimum of 200 feet or a maximum of 1000 feet of the conductor.

What is claimed is:

l. The method of coiling filamentary articles into predetermined lengths, which comprises advancing a filamentary article from a supply thereof. along a path of travel having a predetermined length, coiling the article into coils at the end of its path of travel, continuously measuring the footage of the article being coiled up, cutting the article at the end of its path of travel and terminating the coils in process-when a predetermined measure of the article is coiled thereon, resetting the measuring means to its starting position each time the filamentary article is severed so that successive coils of equal length of the material will be coiled up, clamping the trailing end of the filamentary article against movement when the supply of the article is exhausted at the beginning of its path of travel so that an end of a like filamentary article from another supply thereof may be connected thereto, severin the filamentary article when the trailing end is clamped if a predetermined minimum footage of the filamentary article has been coiled up on the coil in process, and continuing to coil up the filamentary article on the coil in process until a footage of the article equal to the footage of the previous coils is added to said coil in process if said coil contains less than the predetermined minimum footage per coil when the said connection is made, whereby no coils are produced having less than a required minimum footage of the filamentary article per coil.

2. The method of coiling filamentary articles into predetermined lengths, which comprises continuously advancing a filamentary article from a supply thereof along a path of travel having a predetermined length, intermittently coiling the filamentary article at the end of its path of travel into coils each having a predetermined length of the filamentary article, clamping the trailing end of the filamentary article when said supply thereof is exhausted at the beginning of its path of travel so that it may be connected to an end of a like filamentary article from another supply thereof, forming a reverse loop in the path of travel of the conductor adjacent to the point at which the trailing end is clamped when the supply is exhausted in order to maintain a continuous supply of filamentary article to be coiled while said connection is being made, said loop being arranged to increase the length of the said path of travel so that it equals the said predetermined length of the coils, terminating the coil in process when said supply is exhausted if said coil contains a minimum footage of the filamentary article required per coil, continuing to coil the article on the coil in process until the said predetermined length of the previous coils is coiled thereon if the coil in process contains less than a minimum footage of the filamentary article the filamentary article is severed, whereby the connection between the filamentary article always will be located at the end of a completed coil and may be readily removed therefrom.

3. The method ofcoiling a' filamentary conductor having a metallic core surrounded by an insulating cover into predetermined lengths, which comprises advancing the conductor from a supply thereof along a, path of travel having a length of 800 feet, passing the conductor through a pair of juxtaposed electrodes spacedly positioned along a path of travel of the conductor, forming a 200 foot loop in the. path of travel in the conductor between the said electrodes, said electrodes being arranged to apply across the insulating cover and metallic core of the conductor a potential having an intensity to break down any faults therein providing paths of reduced dielectric strength between the electrode and metallic core of the conductonpassing. the advancing conductor through a cutting device positioned'at the end of the 800 foot path of travel of the conductor, coiling up the conductor at the end of its path of travel, continuously measuring the footage of the conductor being coiled up. simultaneously actuating the cuttingdevice to sever the conductor and terminate the coil in process each time 800 feet of the filamentary conductor is coiled up, clamping the trailing. end of the conductor against movement at the beginning of said path of travel when said supply is exhausted so that it may be connected to, an end of a like conductor provided on another supply thereof in order to maintain a continuous supply of conductor to be coiled, deenergizing the high potential testing electrodes while the connection is being made between the conductors, forming a reverse loop in the path of travel of the conductor at a point adjacent to that at which the trailing end of the conductor is clamped to allow continuous coiling of the conductor while the said connection is being made, releasing the clamp so that the conductor provided on the second supply will be advanced along the predetermined path of travel and coiled up, said 200 foot loop formed between the path of travel of the com ductor between the first-mentioned and secondmentioned electrodes being of such length that no portion of the conductor passes through both electrodes while they are deenergized.

4. The method of coiling a filamentary conductor having a metallic core surrounded by an insulating cover into coils of predetermined length, which comprises advancing such a conductor from a supply thereof along a predetermined path of travel, passing the conductor through a clamping device positioned at the beginning of its path of travel, passing the conductor through a cutting device positioned at the end of its path of travel, said path of travel of the conductor between the clamping device into the cutting device being a predetermined length, coiling up the conductor as it emerges from the cutting device, continuously measuring the number of the conductor being coiled up, simultaneously actuating the cutting device to sever the advancing conductor and terminate the coil in process each time 800 feet of the conductor is coiled up, actuating the clamping device to stop the end of the conductor at the beginning of said path of travel when the said supply is exhausted so that it may be connected to an end of a like conductor provided on anotherv supply thereof in order to maintain a continuous supply of conductors to be coiled, actuating the cutting device to sever the conductor and terminate the coil in process when the end of the conductor is clamped if said coil contains at least 200 feet of the conductor, continuing to coil up the conductor on 21 the coil in process .until 800 feetof conductor have been coiled thereon if said coil in process contains less than 200 feet of the conductor when the end of the conductor is clamped, resetting the measuring means to its starting position each time the end of the conductor is clamped, forming a reverse lo op near the beginning of the path of the conductor being coiled up before the supply is exhausted to increasethe length of its path of travel by such an amount that 800 feet of conductor is positioned between the clamping device and the cutting device, said path of travel being made 800 feet so that when the said connection between the conductors is advanced 800 feet it is positioned adjacent to the cutting device when the conductor is severed thereby leaving the con nection positioned adjacent to the end of the completed coil so that it may be removed therefrom, and repeating the above steps in the order named to coil up the conductor into coils normally having 800 feet of the conductor, a mini-- mum of 200 feet of conductor and a maximum of 1000 feet of conductor and in such a manner that the connection between the conductors is not included in a completed coil.

5. An apparatus for coiling filamentary conductors into predetermined lengths, which comprises means for continuously advancing a filamentary conductor from a supply thereof along a path of travel having a predetermined length, means for coiling up the filamentary conductor at the end of its path of travel, means for continuously measuring the footage of the filamentary conductor bing coiled up, means controlled by the footage measuring means for severing the filamentary conductor at the end of its path of travel into coils each having a predetermined length of the conductor, means for clamping the end of the filamentary conductor at the beginning of its path of travel when the supply thereof is exhausted so that it may be connected to an end of a like filamentary conductor from another supply thereof to maintain a continuous supply of filamentary conductor to be coiled up, means for resetting the measuring means to its starting position when the conductor is severed and when the clamping means is actuated, means controlled by the footage measuring means for causing the filamentary conductor to be severed to terminate the coil in process when the said supply is exhausted if said coil in process contains at least a predetermined minimum length of the conductor required per coil, and means controlled by the footage measuring means for pre venting the filamentary'conductor from being severed when the said supply is exhausted if said coil in process contains less' than the predetermined minimum footage of the filamentary conductor until an additional length of the conductor determined by the footage measuring means is coiled thereon, whereby no coils are coiled on the coiling means having less than the minimum footage of the filamentary conductor required per coil.

6. An apparatus for coiling filamentary conductors into predetermined lengths, which comprises means for advancing a filamentary conductor from a supply thereof along a'predetermined path of travel, means positioned at the end of the path of travel of the conductor for cutting the conductor, means positioned adjacent to the cutting means for coiling up the filamentary conductor, means driven by the coiling means for continuously measuring the footage of the filamentary conductor being coiled up, electrically operated means controlled by the measuring -to.an end of a like filamentary conductor from another supply thereof, electrically-operated means controlled by the said measuring'means for automatically causing the cutting device to terminate the coil in process whenthe said supply is exhausted if at least a predetermined minimum footage of the filamentary conductor has 'been wound onsaid coil in procesaelectricallyoperated meanscontrolled by the -measuring means for rendering the cutting device inoperative when the said supply is exhausted if less than a predetermined =-minimum footage of the conductor is coiled up, whereby an additional footage of the conductor equal to the length of its path of travel is added to such coils before the conductor is severed to terminate the coil in process, means for resetting the measuring means to its starting position each time the clamping means is actuated so thatthe connection between the filamentary conductors. will be positioned adj acentto the cutting; device. when the predetermined footage offilamentaryconductor has been coiled up, whereby the filamentary conductor is severed so as to leave the connection between the conductors at the end of the completed coil from which it may be removed.

7.- An apparatus for coiling filamentary articles into predetermined lengths, which comprises means for advancing a filamentary article from a supply source of a given v length along a path of travel having a predetermined length, means for coiling up the filamentary article at theend of its path of travel, means for continuously measuring the footage of the filamentary article being coiled up, means controlled by-the footage measuring means for cutting the conductor at the end of its path of travelto terminate the coil in process when a predetermined footage of the filamentary article is coiled up, a second means provided-at the end of the path of travel of the filamentary article for coiling up the article after it is severed and the coil in process is terminated to maintain substantially continuous coiling of the article, means for automatically resetting the footage measuring means to its nor mal starting position each time the cutting means is actuated so that the article will be severed to produce successive coils each having-the said predetermined footage of the article, means positioned adjacent to the beginning of said path of travel of the filamentary article for clamping the trailing end of the article when thesupply thereof is exhausted so'that said trailing end may be connected to an end of a, filamentary article provided on another supply thereof, means controlled by the footage measuring means for causing the cutting device to sever the filamentary article and terminate the coil when the supply is exhausted if said coil in process contains at least a minimum predetermined footage of the filamentary article required per coil to prevent coiling up a filamentary article in excess of the maximum footage allowed per coil, a second means provided on the footage measuring means for rendering the cutting device inoperative if the coil in process contains less than the minimum footage of the filamentary article allowed per coil when the supply is exhausted to prevent coiling up less th'an the minimum footage of the filamentary article allowed per coil, and means for making-the path of travel of the article equal to the predetermined footage determined by the measuring means each time the clamping means is actuated so that the connection'between the articles always is located at the cutting means when the article is severed, whereby the connection may' be readily removed from the end of the coil on the end of the leading end of the article. I V

8. An apparatus for coiling filamentary articles into predetermined lengths, whichcomprises means for advancing the filamentary article from a supply thereof along a prcd'eterminedpath of travel, means for coiling' up the filamentary arti cle at the end of its path of travel, means for continuously measuringthefootage of the filamentary article being coiled up, means controlled by the footage measuring means for cutting the filamentary article at the coilingmeans to terminate the coil in process cach'time apredetermined footage of the filamentary article is coiled up, means for clamping the trailing end of the filamentary article. at the beginning of its path of travel when the supply thereof is exhausted sothat it may be connected to another filamentary article provided on a" second supply source, meansf'orincreasingthe length of the path of travel of the filamentary article'before the clamping means is actuated by a footage sufficient to allow the filamentary article to becoiled up while the connection is being made between the articles, said means for increasing the path of travel being arranged to make the path of travel of the article equal to the length of the article wound into coils as determined by the measuring means, electrically-operated means controlled by the footage measuring means for causing the cutting means to sever the article and terminate the coil in process when said supply is exhausted if a minimum footage of the filamentary article has been coiled up on said coil in process, a second electrically-operated means controlled by the measuring means for render-- ing the cutting device inoperative when the said supply is exhausted if said coil in process contains less than the minimum footage of the arti cle so that an additional predetermined foot- 7 age of the article is added to such coils before the article is severed, electrically-operated means for resetting the footage measuring means to its starting position simultaneously with'the operation of the clamping means and the cutting device, whereby when the connection between filamentaryarticle advances to the end of the path of travel the predetermined footage necessary to affect the operation of the cutting device has been coiled up on the coiling means and the article is severed when the connection is substantially close to the end of the completed coil from which position it may be readily removed.

9. An apparatus for coiling a filamentary conductor having a metallic core surrounded by an insulating cover into predetermined lengths, which comprises means for guiding a filamentary conductor from a supply thereof along a predetermined path of travel, means for continuously advancing the conductor from a supply source to an intermediate point, a second means for advancing the conductor from the intermediate advancing means to the end of its path of travel, said. path of travel of the conductor from its supply source to the second advancing means having a predetermined length, means positioned adja- 24 cent to the second advancing means for coiling up the filamentary conductor, a second in a s for coiling up the filamentary conductor when the coil in process is terminated to maintain substantially contirulous ceiling of the conductor, means positioned between the coiling means and: the second advancing means for cutting the advancing conductor, means driven by the coiling means for measuring the footage of the filamentary conductor being coiled up, means designed to be electrically energized for actuating the cutting devic means controlled by the footage measuring means for causing the electrically-operated means to actuate the cutting device. sever the conductor when a predetermined footage of the conductor is coiled up, electrically-operated means energized simultaneously with the operation of thecutting device for resetting the measuring means to its starting position each time the cutting device is actuated so that successive coils of said predetermined length are produced at the coiling means, means for automatically clamping the trailing end of the filamentary conductor at the beginning of said path of travel against movement when the supply thereof is exhausted so that it may be connected to an end of a filamcntary conductor provided on another supply thereof and for releasing the clamping means to permit the advancing means to withdraw the filamentary conductor from the: second-mentioned supply when the connection between the conductor is completed, electrically-operated means controlled by the footage measuring means for causing the cutting device to sever the conductor andterminate the coil in process if said coil contains a m nimum footage of the conductor when the said supply is exhausted, a second electrieerily-operated means controlled by the footage measuring means for rendering the cutting device'inoperative when the supply is exhausted if said coil in process contains less than the minimum footage of the filamentary conductor, means for increasing the length of the path of travel of the conductorbetween the clamping means and the intermediate advancing means before the first-mentioned supply is exhausted to permit the conductor to be coiled while the connection is being made between the conductors, said means for increasing the length of the path of travel being arranged to make the path of travel of the conductor equal to the predetermined footage per coil when the clamping means is actuated so that the connection between the filamentary conductors is advanced to the end of the path of travel .of the conductor when the conductor is severed by operation of the measuring means, said increase in the path of travel of the conductor thereby leaving the connection at the end of the completed coil from which it may be readily removed, means for deenergizing the second advancing means for a predetermined period of time after the conductor has beensevered and the coiling operation terminated by the footage measuring means so that the end of the conductor may be attached to the second coiling means, and means provided in the path of travel of the conductor between the second-mentioned advancing means and the coiling means to permit continuousmovementof the filamentary conductor along the path of travel therebetween while the end of the conductor is connected to the second coilmg means. 1

10. An apparatus for coiling a filamentary conductor having a metallic core surrounded by an nsulating cover into coils of predetermined 25 lengths, which comprises meansfor advancing such a conductor from a supply source of a given length along a path of travel. having a predetermined length, means'for' severing the advancing conductorat the end of its path of travel, means for coiling up the advancing conductor at the end of its path of travel, means for continuously measuringthe footage 'of the conductor being coiled up, means controlled by the footage measuring means for actuating the cutting device to sever the conductor and terminate the coil in process each time 800 feet of the conductor is coiled up, means for clamping the end of the conductor at the beginning of its path of travel when said supply thereof is. exhausted so that it. may be connected to an end of a conductor provided on a second supply thereof to maintain a continuous supply of conductor to be coiled, means controlled by the measuring means for causing the cutting means to sever the conductor and terminate the coiling operation when the supply is exhausted if the coil in process contains at least 200 feet of the conductor, a second means controlled by the footage measuring means for preventing the cutting device from operating to sever the conductor when the said supply of the conductor is exhausted if the coil in process contains less than -200 feet of the conductor until an additional 800 feet of the conductor is added to such coils before the conductor is severed and the coiling operation terminated, means controlled jointly by the cutting device and the clamping means for resetting the measuring means to its starting position each time the end of the conductor is clamped at the beginning of its path of travel or severed at the end of its path of travel, means for increasing the length of the path of travel of the conductor before a supply thereof is exhausted by such an amount that the path of travel between the clamping means and the cutting device equals 800 feet, said 800 feet being the normal footage of the filamentary conductor wound on each coil as determined by the footage measuring means, said path of travel being made 800 l feet in length so that each time a connection between conductors reaches the cutting device 800 feet of the conductor has been coiledup and the conductor will be severedand the coil in process terminated thereby leaving the connection at the end of the completed coil from which it may be readily removed, and repeating the above steps in the order named to coil up the conductor into coils normally having 800 feet of the conductor a minimum of 200 feet and a maximum of 1000 feet of the conductor.

11. The method of coiling filamentary articles into predetermined lengths, which comprises advancing a filamentary article from a supply thereof along a predetermined path of travel, normally coiling the article at the end of its path of travel into coils each having a'predetermined length, terminating the coil in process when said supply is exhausted and said coil has at least a predetermined minimum length, and continuing the coil in process when said supply is exhausted and the coil has less than the predetermined minimum length until the coil has increased an additional predetermined length.

12. The method of coiling filamentary articles into predetermined lengths, which comprises continuously advancing a filamenary article from a supply thereof along a predetermined path of travel, normally coiling the filamentary article at the end of its pathof travel into coils each having'a predetermined length, terminating the coil 261 in process whensaid supply is exhausted at the beginning of said path oftravel and said coil has at least-a predetermined minimum length, and continuing thecoil iniprocess when saidsupply is exhausted and the coil has less than the predetermined'minimum length until an additional length of the article equal to the length of a normal coil is coiled thereon.

13. The method of coiling filamentary materials into predetermined lengths, which comprises continuously advancing a filamentary material from a supply thereof along a predetermined path of travel, normally coiling the filamentary material at the end of its path of travel into coils each having a predetermined length until the supply thereof is exhausted at the beginning of said path of travel, connecting the trailing end of the filamentary material when said supply thereof is exhausted at the beginning of said path of travel to an end of another supply of like filamentary material to'maintain a continuous supply of a filamentary material to be coiled, terminating the coil in process when said first-mentioned supply is exhausted and said coil contains at least a predetermined length of the material, and continuing the coil in process when said firstmentioned supply is exhausted and the coil contains less than the predetermined minimum length of the material until an additional predetermined length of the material is coiled thereon.

14. The method of coiling filamentary materials into predetermined lengths, which comprises continuously advancing a filamentary material from its supply thereof along a predetermined path of travel, normally coiling the filamentary material at theend of its path of travel into coils each having a predetermined length of the material until the supply thereof is exhausted, con

necting the trailing end of the filamentary material when said supply thereof is exhausted at the beginning of said path of travel to' an end of another supply of like filamentary material tomaintain a continuous supply of a filamentary material to be coiled, terminating the coil in process when said first-mentioned supply is exhausted and said coil contains a predetermined minimum length of the material, and continuing the coil in process when siad first-mentioned supply is exhausted and the coil contains less than a predetermined minimum length of the material until an additional predetermined length of material equal to the length of a normal coil is coiled thereon.

15. The method of coiling filamentary material into predetermined lengths, which comprises continuously advancing a filamentary material' from a supply thereof along a predetermined path of travel, coiling the filamentary material at the end of. its path of travel into coils each having a predetermined length of the-material, connecting the trailing end of the filamentary material when said supply thereof is exhausted at the beginning of said path of travel to an end of another supply of like filamentary material toinain= tain a continuous supply of filamentary material to be coiled into coils, and terminating the coil in process when said first-mentioned supply is exhausted only when said coil contains at least a predetermined minimum length of the material. 16. The method of coiling filamentary mate: rial into predetermined lengths, which comprises continuously advancing a filamentary material from a supply thereof alonga-predetermined path of'travel, coiling the-filamentary material 27 at the end of its path oftravel into coils each haying a predetermined ,length of the material, connecting the trailing end of the filamentary material when said supply is exhausted at the 9 beginning Of said path of travel to an end of another supply of like filamentary material to maintain a continuous supply of filamentary material to be coiled into coils, and continuing to coil an additional predetermined length of the filamentary material on the coil in process when said rst-mentioned supply is exhausted and said coil in process contains less than a predetermined minimum length of the material.

17. Ihe method of coiling conductors into predetermined lengths, which comprises continuously advancing a conductor from a supply thereof along a predetermined path of travel, normally coiling the conductor at the end of its path of travel into coils each having a predetermined length until the supply source of the conductor is exhausted at the beginning of said path of travel, clamping the trailing end of the conductor from the supply source when it is exhausted, connecting to said clamped end an end of a like conductor from another supply thereof to maintain a continuous supply of conductor to be coiled into coils, terminating the coil in process when the connection is made between the conductors and said coil contains at least the predetermined minimum length of conductor required per coil, and continuing the coil in process when said connection is made and the, coil in process contains less than the predetermined minimum length of conductor required per coil until a length of the conductor equal to the length of a normal coil is wound thereon.

l8. The method of coiling conductors into predetermined lengths, which comprises continuously advancing a conductor from a supply thereof along a predetermined path of travel, coiling the conductor into coils at the end of its path of travel, severing the conductor each time a predetermined length of the conductor is coiled into a coil until the supply of the conductor is exhausted at the beginning of said path of travel, connecting the trailing end of the conductor of an exhausted supply to an end of a like conductor from another supply thereof to maintain a continuous supply of conductor to be coiled into coils, severing the conductor to terminate the coil in process when the first-mentioned supply is exhaustedand said coil contains at least the predetermined minimum length of conductor required per coil, and continuing the coil in process when said first-mentioned'supply is exhausted and said coil contains less than the predetermined minimum length of conductor until a length of the conductor equal to the length of the normal coils is coiled thereon.

19. The method of coiling filamentary conductors into predetermined lengths, which comprises continuously advancing a filamentary conductor from a supply thereof along a predetermined path of travel, coiling the filamentary conductor into coils at the end of its path of travel, normally severing the filamentary conductor each time a predetermined footage of the conductor is coiled into a coil until the supply of the conductor is exhausted at the beginning of said path of travel, clamping the trailing end of the filamentary conductor when its supply is exhausted at the beginning of its path of travel, connecting to said clamped end an end of a like filamentary conductor from another supply thereof to maintain a continuous supply of filamentary conductor to be coiled, severing the filamentary conductor when the-trailing end of the first-mentioned supply is clamped and the coil iZI'pIOCESS contains at least alpredetermined minimum length of the conductor, and: continuing the coil in process when the trailing end of the first-mentioned supply is clamped. and said coilicontains less than a predetermined minimum length of, the conductor until a length of the conductor equal to the length of a normal coil is coiled on said coil.

20. An apparatus for coiling filamentary articles into predetermined lengths, which comprises means for continuously advancing a filamentary material from a supply thereof along a. predeter mined path of travel, means for normally coiling the filamentary material at the end of its path of travel into coils each having a predetermined length, means for terminating the coil in process when the supply of the material is exhausted and said coil has at least a predetermined minimum length, and means for continuing the coil in process when said supply is exhausted and said coil has less than the predetermined minimum length until an additional predetermined length of the material is coiled thereon.

21. An apparatus for coiling a filamentary material into predetermined lengths, which comprises means for continuously advancing a filamentary material from a supply thereof along a predetermined path of travel, means for normally coiling the filamentary material at the end of its path of travel into coils each having a predetermined length of the material until the supply thereof is exhausted, means for terminating the coil in process when the supply of the material is exhausted at the beginning of said path of travel and said coil contains at least a predetermined minimum length of the material, and means for continuing the coil in process when the supply thereof is exhausted and said coil contains less than a'predetermined minimum length of the material until an additional length of the material equal to the length of a normal coil is coiled thereon.

22. An apparatus for coiling filamentary articles into predetermined lengths, which comprises means for continuously advancing a filamentary article from a supply thereof along a predetermined path of travel, means fo'r normally coiling the filamentary article at the'end of its paths of travel into coils each havinga predetermined length of the article, means for stopping only the trailing end of the filamentary article-from an exhausted supply at the beginning of its path of travel so that it may be connected to an end; of a like filamentary article from-another supply thereof to maintain a continuous-supply ofthe filamentary article to the- 'coiling means, means for terminating the coil in process on the coiling means when said first-mentioned supply is exhausted and said coil contains at least a predetermined minimum length of the article required per coil, and means for continuingthecoil in process. when the said first-mentioned supply'of the article is exhausted and said coil contains less than a minimum length of the article until a length of the filamentary articleequal tothe length of a normal coil is coiledtthereon. V

23. An apparatus for coiling filamentary conductors into predetermined lengths, which comprises means for continuously advancing a filamentary conductor from a supply thereof along a predetermined path ofitravel, means for-coiling the filamentary conductor into coils at the end of its path of travel, means for normally in process each time a predetermined length of the conductoris coiled into a coil until the supply of the conductor is exhausted at the beginning of said path of travel, means for clamping the trailing endll of the conductor when said supply thereof is exhausted so that it may be connected to another filamentary conductor of a second supply source to maintain a continuous supply of the conductor to be coiled, means for terminating the coil in process when the first-mentioned supply is exhausted and said coil in process contains at least a predetermined minimum length of the filamentary-conductor, and means for continuing the coil in process when the first-mentioned supply thereof is exhausted and the coil in process contains, less than a predetermined minimum length of the conductor until a length of the conductor equal to the length of a normal coil is coiled thereon.

24. The method of coiling a filamentary material into predetermined lengths, which comprises advancing the material from a supply along a accepts path of travel having a predetermined length, normally coiling the material into coils at the end of the path of travel each having a length equal to that of said path of travel, starting a new coil when the supply thereof is exhausted and the coil being wound contains more than the predetermined minimum length of material, and continuing the coil being wound when the supply is exhausted and the coil contains less than said minimum length of material. GEORGE E. HENNING. CHARLES J. OLEARY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

